We think experience should be a shared asset.

Get the clarity you need to make confident decisions about your school’s financial future.

CFO Colleague is a financial and operational advisory firm specializing in higher education. After years of working on the financial front lines of small private colleges across the country, we’ve amassed a collection of best practices, smart metrics and time-tested forecasting tools to help you get your financial house in order. We’re not just “consultants.” We’re fellow CFOs who want to share what works and save you from what doesn’t.

Our Areas of Expertise

Budgeting/Forecasting

Go from predictably awful to awfully predictable

Whether you’re tired of justifying your data or cringe at playing department diplomat when the funding requests roll in, putting together the budget is a task many CFOs dread. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, we’ve found that higher ed is one of the easiest industries to predict. More than 80 institutions have overhauled their budgeting and forecasting process with our free multi-year forecasting model. Interactive, transparent and above all, accurate, COMP4cast gets your entire team on the same page by answering “What if?” questions in real time.

Interim Leadership

Turn a point of transition into a period of transformation

The departure of a CFO can usher in equal parts opportunity and anxiety. While you may relish the chance to change course, you know it’s unwise to leave your operational ship without a captain for long. Engaging an interim CFO can help you tackle both. We’ll take the helm until the right replacement is found, giving you the breathing room to recruit a talented candidate whose mission aligns with your own. Along the way, we’ll overhaul inefficient processes and implement best practices to pave the way for a smooth transition.

Turnaround

“Another small college to close” doesn’t have to be your headline

Confronted with an unambiguously grim financial outlook, you feel like the captain of the Titanic, iceberg warning in hand. You may have executed your fair share of panic-driven cost-cutting measures in the past, only to find yourself in the same uncomfortable position yet again. So, now what? If you’re facing a turnaround, partner with an advisor who knows the way out. Using our unique set of metrics, we’ll help you identify areas of drag and promise to plot a prosperous way forward for your institution.

Grow with best practices gleaned from more than 80 schools.

See what our colleagues have to say

“We had concluded that our next step was to wind down operations and sell off our campus. The fact that we are still here is a testimony to Jeff’s work on our behalf. Today, we have a good grasp of where we are headed, thanks to the forecasting model that he provided and are addressing the primary issues that caused the crisis in the first place. Highest words of praise for the godsend that he was.”

– President, Private College (US)

“CFO Colleague helped us create a five-year forecast that informed and improved our operational and strategic plans. Our investment in Jeff’s insight was invaluable and, in my opinion, the best money we’ve spent all year.”

– Mr. Rick Taphorn, Chief Financial Officer, Bryan College (TN)

Our take on the current reality of higher ed

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In its April 27, 2018 edition, The Atlantic reported the following: The numbers are wild: Harvard admitted just 4.6 percent of its nearly 43,000 applicants for the class that begins this fall. Stanford accepted only 4.29 percent, and...

In an interview for an upcoming book, the author asked me to characterize the nature of private higher education at this time. It just so happened that a colleague had asked the same question about a week ago, affording time for reflection. My response is that...

Those of us who have worked in higher education dodged a bullet with tax reform. Section 117(d) remains in force, allowing employees and their dependents to receive qualified tuition reductions tax free, at least for undergraduate study. Most call this...